Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Procurement of Heptane in Germany

zinc finger - 5-5-2021 at 04:30

Hi there,

I'm searching for a cheap source of ~30 l of heptane (preferably without toxic contaminants). Here in Germany it seems like you cant get those flammable solvents anymore. It's the usual problem of suppliers not being willing to ship these "hazardous chemicals". So you either don't get it at all or have to pay substantial amounts for a basic solvent.

The best I could find was this:
https://www.laboratoriumdiscounter.nl/de/heptan.html
Still the ADR shipping is expensive.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Edited on 5-5-2021 by zinc finger]

Fyndium - 5-5-2021 at 05:35

Any hazmat will cost more, but you have two options: go pick it up, or just pay the bill. Additional option is to compensate the shipping by ordering more: if you will need it a lot, you can order 2, 3 or more canisters or even a barrel.

I pick up whenever possible. Ordering anything comes with flat rate 80€ up to one pallet domestic, which is dimes when doing a pallet of stuff, but for one bottle or canister it's a bit on the hard side.

woelen - 5-5-2021 at 11:23

This may be an option for you as well: https://www.deoplosmiddelspecialist.nl/kopen/heptaan

Just send an email to them and ask what price they ask for shipping to Germany.

I myself have good experiences with this company. They have a limited assortment of chemicals, but what they have has a good price and most of the chemicals they also sell to individuals. I, however, am in NL, shipping to Germany will be more expensive.

Fyndium - 5-5-2021 at 12:15

I believe that shipping between those two countries isn't a biggie. I didn't even notice crossing a border when I was driving around there with my friend in Benelux, Germany and so on.

zinc finger - 6-5-2021 at 01:47

Thank you two for your answers and the seller tip!

I am still not to happy with the prices. I was just looking for "Waschbenzin" (should be petroleum ether in English?) and realized how much cheaper it is. It is basically a Mixture of Pentane, Hexane and Heptane but sells for very low prices and on platforms like ebay with no extra shipping costs. Shure it is not lab grade and the aromatic contents and other impurities can be quite high. Still I am considering it as an alternative for certain tasks like crude extractions. I could therefor either use it as it is or distil of the tree main components. I have an old TCD GC standing around so I should even be abled to check the purity after the distillation.

Fyndium - 6-5-2021 at 05:25

Waschbenzin sounds like white spirits, petroleum ether, mineral turpentine, and other names for the child. It's the stuff that is used in any general thinner, solvent or cleaning application.

It is likely excellent extraction solvent, but if you intent to evaporate it off, you should first fractionate it, as higher boiling fractions can boil pretty high. Extraction for other means, like acid-base, it works great, and is cheap and all over available.

While pure solvents are used in chemistry, many otc solvents can be used perfectly as is, and they can be order of magnitude cheaper.